------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: May 25, 1997 Issue #731 HEADLINES: ========== SLORC: INFORMATION SHEET NO. A-0046 ABYMU & ABMU: JOINT LETTER TO ASEAN REUTER: BURMA CONCERNS CLOUD ON ASEAN'S ENTRY NEW YORK TIMES: FOREIGN ENERGY, DOMESTIC POLITICS IHT: U.S. FIRM BEATS INVESTMENT BAN ON BURMA DEALS XINHUA NEWS AGENCY: MYANMAR'S TELECOMMUNICATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ASIA PRESS RELEASE: NEW ARRESTS THE NATION: PETRONAS TIPPED FOR TEXACO STAKE SAMPLE LETTER: TO MAYOR GIULIANI BOOK RELEASE: AUNG SAN SUU KYI-VOICE OF HOPE ----------------------------------------------------------------- SLORC: INFORMATION SHEET NO. A-0046 May 24, 1997 From: OKKAR66127@AOL.COM Once again the NLD has made claims that nearly (200) of their party members have been allegedly persecuted which is simply not true. At this time, no members of the NLD have been arrested, but have only been asked by local authorities to refrain from taking actions designed to create chaos in the country. A compelling illustration of propaganda at work would be made if journalists and diplomats simply asked the NLD to provide a list of those arrested and the police stations at which the arrest were supposedly made. Then, their claims can be verified. In the United States and in every civilized country around the world, the government frequently asks for control and sometimes detains individuals who threaten actions to create chaos and cause social disruption. The NLD is seeking to maganify these protective activities for their own political aims. Regretfully, the western countries have been sold a barrel of propaganda, and are crafting a biased and dangerous foreign policy upon it. Given the recent history of the United States, they should know better. ******************************** ABYMU & ABMU: JOINT LETTER TO ASEAN From: mingla@cm-sun.cm.ksc.co.th May 25, 1997 Joint Appeal Letter to the ASEAN from the All Burma Young Monks' Union (ABYMU) and All Burma Muslim Union (ABMU) Attention: The President Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Subject: Appeal letter to ASEAN to reconsider SLORC-ruled Burma's entrance into the regional grouping. Honorable Mr. President and distinguished leaders, We would like to convey our warm regards to your regional association, ASEAN, during this celebration period of its 30th anniversary. We are writing with the hope of drawing your attention to our concerns regarding the welfare of our people, and to suggest you reconsider your intention to admit the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) into ASEAN. SLORC is an illegitimate military regime which is currently committing the worst human rights violations in the region. On behalf of the Burmese people we would like to request you to consider the following well-documented facts. Hopefully, these will encourage you to review your policy concerning Burma. After savagely suppressing peaceful public protests for democracy in 1988, a group of generals made a coup d'etat and illegally took power. These generals made up the SLORC. They clearly lost all popular support in 1990, during a free election held by themselves. The National League for Democracy, the well-known pro-democracy party, won that election by a landslide victory, with over 80% of the votes. SLORC has neither legitimacy to rule the country nor they possess the right to represent Burma. Basically, SLORC is only one of the 16 armed groups currently operating in Burma. Strong animosity exists between the Burmese people and the SLORC military government because of longstanding complicated problems. The problems are; (a) institutionalized and sometimes violent religious discrimination; (b) systematic, brutal violation of basic human rights; (c) lack of equality and self-determination for ethnic nationalities; and (d) a general political crisis due to SLORC's failure to honor the result of 1990 General Elections. The people of Burma continue to struggle for democratic reforms despite accelerated persecution and restrictions by their oppressors. Several strikes participated by various strata of society including students, monks, and workers, have shown the strong desire for freedom and justice. These collective protests in the name of freedom include: a) 1988 general uprising, b) 1990 general elections, c) 1990 Patta Nikujanna, Sangha strikes against the military in which the Sangha refused to accept SLORC's religious offers, d) 1990 Dec. 10-11 University Students demonstration to celebrate Nobel Peace Prize Award to Aung San Suu Kyi, e) 1996 December student demonstrations and f) 1997 Sangha strike against the regime for stealing valuables from Mandalay Maha Myat Muni temple, one of the most famous Buddhist Shrine in Burma. We would like to remind ASEAN that such popular protests and SLORC's violent reaction to them in the future could create a situation of further instability and vulnerability to your investments inside Burma. Burma, once the rich rice-bowl of Southeast Asia, is now one of the U.N. designated least-developed countries in the world. SLORC has no ability to manage political and economic development. We also would like to suggest to ASEAN that only a truly democratic environment can provide good soil for your investments. Both the Burmese people and the international community argue against Burma's inclusion into ASEAN. To accept SLORC into your association will further frustrate the efforts of the Burmese people to build a free and prosperous country. To accept SLORC will also tarnish ASEAN's reputation as a progressive organization. We believe the above facts warrant serious thought, and are sufficient to encourage you to reconsider SLORC's membership in ASEAN. Please suspend Burma's membership until its people achieve democratic freedom. With metta, With regards, Rev. Ashin Khay Mar Sarya Chairperson Chairperson All Burma Young Monks' Union All Burma Muslim Union (ABYMU). (ABMU). Date: May 25, 1997 **************************************** REUTER: BURMA CONCERNS CLOUD ON ASEAN'S ENTRY May 22, 1997 By Ruben Alabastro MANILA, May 22 (Reuter) - Southeast Asian leaders run the risk of being seen as legitimising a reviled regime if they accept Burma now as new member of the Association of Southeast Asian Naitons (ASEAN), experts warned in a paper on Thursday. The paper summed up discussions at a two-day Manila meeting of Southeast Asian security experts that ended on Wednesday. The meeting happened to coincide with the arrest in Burma of about 60 activists in a renewed crackdown on Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party. The experts, who included academic leaders from ASEAN countries, agreed there was a need to expand the association to include Burma, Laos and Cambodia, but questioned the timing of Rangoon's inclusion in the group. One point raised by some experts ``was the perception that Myanmar's (Burma's) inclusion in ASEAN may be seen as a legitimisation of a reprehensible regime,'' the paper said. University of the Philippines professor Carolina Hernandez, president of Manila's Institute for Strategic and Development Studies, voiced concern that Burma's membership ``may result in the undermining of the diplomatic influence and political weight of ASEAN.'' ``With the European Union's stand on Myanmar and the recent United States sanctions against that country, ASEAN's dialogues with these countries will prove to be difficult,'' warned Mohamad Jawhar Hassan of Malaysia. Jawhar, head of Malaysia's Institute of Strategic and International Studies, said the ``ASEAN culture will create some impact on Myanmar, but change will be mostly propelled by internal factors with some external help.'' ``If ASEAN opts to include similar politically fragile members under its roof, then ASEAN as a regional grouping would become fragile as well,'' said Suchit Bunbongkarn, acting director of Thailand's Institute of Security and International *************************************** NEW YORK TIMES: FOREIGN ENERGY, DOMESTIC POLITICS May 22, 1997 Agis Salpukas Burmese Project Tests Unocal Resolve Ever on the hunt for rich discoveries abroad, American oil companies have long had to factor in fears about the unstable nature of foreign governments when considering huge investments in capital and equipment. But now the companies are finding that politics back home is the new focus of risk. The threat of unilateral economic sanctions, typically directed by Washington at governments accused of human rights violations, has become big enough to cast a shadow over investment decisions stretching from Southeast Asia to West Africa to the Caspian Sea, oil executives and other industry experts say. No company has exposed itself more to the new unknowns than the Unocal Corporation. In an industry that is rapidly directing its investment focus offshore, Unocal has staked more of its future on overseas projects than anyone else, concentrating on Asia. Last November, it even sold its refineries, gas stations and other assets on the West Coast to free capital to invest in the region. It has placed its biggest bet so far in Myanmar, where it is part of an international consortium that is investing $1.2 billion to develop the Yadana natural gas field. And while the field will not start operating until next year, Unocal's presence in Myanmar has already become a case study in the politics and pressures that are increasingly affecting the energy industry. Last month, the Clinton Administration approved the use of sanctions against Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, under legislation that the President signed last fall. Even so, Unocal will remain in business there. The sanctions, which went into effect yesterday, prohibit American companies from making new investments in the country, which is ruled by a military dictatorship that human rights groups have called one of the most repressive regimes in the world. The Yadana project as well as lesser ventures involving Texaco Inc. and the Atlantic Richfield Company, or ARCO, are shielded from the sanctions by a compromise in the legislation that exempts existing investments. Unocal helped win that compromise through intense lobbying. It also succeeded because Washington appears to be more willing to talk tough than to act directly against the interests of American business. But Unocal's experience has exposed just how many problems sanctions can create and underscored how readily constituencies can rise up to pose obstacles to projects thousands of miles away. While it is hanging on to its project, Unocal is also stuck with its critics, risking a legacy of bad publicity along with any profits. Just last month, the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union joined the forces opposing the company, upset that Unocal's concentrated move abroad was unnecessarily costing American jobs. And Unocal's victory is only partial and may not be permanent. Opponents are backing new legislation to force the company out of Myanmar. Even if that effort fails, Unocal will not be able to start new projects that may look promising. "In the oil and gas business, you continually have to reinvest as you draw down reserves," said John H. Lichtblau, chairman of the Petroleum Industry Research Foundation. "This is an ongoing process and not just a one-time thing." The result is a war for public opinion -- and lawmakers' support that is still being waged in the halls of Congress, in letter-writing campaigns and on the Internet. The fighting even reached the City Council in New York, where a bill was passed last week that would prohibit the city from buying products from any company doing business in Myanmar. The measure becomes law in 45 days unless Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani vetoes it. What seems clear is that what is happening to Unocal will happen other American oil companies. For example, in the Caspian S which has become one of regions for new development, "American companies are already feeling some reluctance to go into partnerships because of the sanctions that have already been applied and might be applied in the future," Mr. Lichtblau said. Julia Nanay, a director of the Petroleum Finance Company, a consulting firm in Washington, added: "It's devastating for the U.S. oil industry. There is an increasing list of countries that are potential targets. It's having a terrible effect." Potential flash points include Nigeria and Indonesia, experts say. Whatever the risks and the complications, the industry has little choice but to pursue most projects overseas because that is where the oil is and because American consumers show no signs of trimming their demand. Indeed, Unocal went into Myanmar in 1993 knowing there were troubles ahead, but saw the potential rewards as justifying the risks. Company executives recognized that they were in for a long battle with rights groups, Unocal's president, John F. Imle Jr., recalled, but were determined to see it through. " 'This project is going to happen -- there is no way they are going to stop it,' " he recalled the Unocal executives as saying. The critics were not long in coming. Grass-roots groups of students and immigrants, linked through the Free Burma Coalition, spread reports of rights abuses by the military regime, known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council. The regime, which seized power in 1988, gained notoriety by refusing to recognize the 1990 election victory of the opposition party, whose leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, was put under house arrest for years. The critics accused Unocal of everything from condoning the laundering of drug money -- Myanmar is the world's biggest producer of heroin -- to using slave labor. Through demonstrations and the Internet, the groups picked up support, including backing from American student groups. By last year, Senators Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Democrat of New York, were pushing for an immediate ban on investments, including existing projects. Unocal fought back, denying the critics' charges and noting Washington's inconsistency when pressing for democratic reforms abroad. China, a neighbor of Myanmar's that is also accused of rights violations, has escaped Washington's wrath because it has far more commercial importance, Unocal argued. Just this week, President Clinton began a campaign to renew China's most-favored-nation status despite growing anti-China sentiment. Top Unocal executives made the rounds in Washington, arguing that if the company was forced to quit the gas project, it would be replaced by another big foreign company, just not an American one. After all, Unocal said, it is not even the I participant in the project, which is led by Total S.A. of France. What's more, the company said, its prescence is helping the 35,000 people who live near the project area, where Unocal and Total are spending $6 million on education, medical care and other improvements. To spread the message, Unocal made use of such prominent lobbyists as Tom Korologos, who served as an adviser to Bob Dole in his campaign for President. Unocal also sought to influence public opinion by having the Washington office of Edelman Public Relations Worldwide write to professors and other foreign affairs experts, urging them to support its position. Outside Washington, worked to head off resolutions in a number of cities that would barred local governments from doing business with companies that invest in Myanmar. Without any direct interest in Myanmar, most oil companies kept a low profile in the dispute. One senior executive, who asked that his name not be used, said that they saw little chance to sway public opinion in a debate that pitted economic interests against human rights. The battle in Washington reached a crucial point last summer. A breakthrough for Unocal, which is based in El Segundo, Calif., occurred when it persuaded one of its home state Senators, Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, that any sanctions should be prospective in nature. The company argued that divestment would not only cost Unocal jobs at home, but would also lead to cutbacks at the many domestic contractors that it used. In an interview yesterday, Senator Feinstein said she was concerned that foreign companies would have stepped in if Unocal had been forced to divest itself of its interest last summer. "There's constantly the problem with these things -- that we can shoot ourselves in the foot and not accomplish what we hope to accomplish," she said. Equally important to the outcome was the fact that the Clinton Administration also did not want to order divestiture, and worked with William S. Cohen, then a Republican Senator from Maine and now the Secretary of Defense, on a compromise proposal. Ultimately, Senators Cohen and Feinstein co-sponsored legislation that limited sanctions to future investments and then only if the Myanmar regime committed further rights abuses, a judgment that would be left to the President. Senator Feinstein said yesterday that she wanted the legislation to provide some flexibility, including time to see if the regime in Myanmar would open a dialogue with dissidents. "I wanted to create an opportunity for leverage," she said. The legislation became law in the fall. In January, Unocal signed a contract with the state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise to expand its operations. (Texaco and ARCO also signed deals in the wake of the legislation.) Finally, in April, President Clinton, under renewed pressure from rights groups, activated the sanction provisions. The Treasury Department is expected to issue rules for carrying them out in the next two weeks. Meanwhile, Unocal is proceeding with the Yadana project. Most of the gas to be produced by four offshore platforms will be delivered to Thailand through a 416-mile pipeline. Some will flow to Myanmar, which will reap $150 million or so a year in revenues by about 2000. Unocal holds a 28.26 percent interest in the project. Total has a 3l.24 percent interest. The PTT Exploration and Production Public Company of Thailand holds 25.5 percent and Myanma Oil has 15 percent. Will Unocal and the other American companies in Myanmar get to finish their projects? Roger C. Beach, Unocal's chairman and chief executive, is cautiously optimistic. The fact that President Clinton has moved to stop future investments, he said, has taken the pressure off Congress "to implement a more onerous sanction bill." But there are many minefields ahead. How will the Presidential order be carried out? Will opposition from the oil workers, union catch fire? Will events in Myanmar force Washington's hand? Industry executives say that questions like these are going to come into play in one place after another where American companies will be searching for oil and gas. And while the industry has been slow to recognize the threat until now, Mr. Beach said that was no longer the case. Six months ago, Mr. Beach said, "we were the Lone Ranger crying in the wilderness." Now, he said, "a lot of companies are sitting up and taking notice." Unocal Capital Expenditures: 1995: United States: 60% Foreign: 40%: total [not the company]: $1 billion 1997 Projected: United States: 32% Foreign: 68% total: [not the company] $1.3 billion ************************************** INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: U.S. FIRM BEATS INVESTMENT BAN ON BURMA DEALS May 22, 1997 By Christopher Johnston International Herald Tribune A U.S. telecommunications equipment company has sealed a $250 million contract with the national telephone company of Burma just before the signing of a U.S. ban on further foreign investment in the country. InterDigital Communications Corp. said that it had concluded a contract with Myanmar Posts & Telecommunications to provide equipment for a wireless local telephone system. Myanmar is the military government's name for Burma. Under the terms of the contract, details of which were released last week, InterDigital will manufacture the equipment in the United States and then ship it to Burma for assembly. The contract also calls for technology transfer and the establishment of a joint venture in Burma between InterDigital and MPT for the local manufacturing of the systems as well as another InterDigital wireless technology. The company, based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, said the order was its largest to date and was subject to the two parties ''finalizing financing arrangements, the joint venture agreement, certain pricing, payment and other terms.'' The investment ban was announced by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on April 22 and signed by President Bill Clinton on Tuesday. The United States said it announced the sanctions because of Burma's increased repression of its democracy movement. Mr. Clinton also accused Burma of being the world's leading producer of opium and heroin. A White House spokesman declined to comment on the InterDigital contract, but he said that because the ban was not in effect until it was signed, in principle any deals concluded before the signing could proceed. An InterDigital representative credited ''a real close friend'' in the U.S. government, close ties to the national phone company and an existing stake in Burma with landing the contract. She would not elaborate on the identity or the position of the U.S. official. She also said the manufacturing facility would produce phone systems for local consumption, not for export. ''It's not an investment in Myanmar,'' the representative said. ''It's really more of a sale to Myanmar.'' ''This is the height of chutzpah,'' said Maureen Aung-Thwin, director of the Burma Project, a human-rights organization in New York. ''This new means of communication will not help the ordinary Burmese citizen but those who are beyond the law - the military elite and its supporters.'' Human-rights organizations have accused the Burmese military government of using forced labor in its joint ventures with foreign companies, and pressure from activists has caused a number of U.S. companies, including Levi Strauss and PepsiCo Inc., to pull their investment out of the country. The InterDigital representative said the company had thought about the possibility of protests but said InterDigital was ''just thrilled to have this type of order and to be selling equipment into Mynamar.'' ***************************************** XINHUA NEWS AGENCY: MYANMAR'S TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR ACHIEVES 9 PERCENT GROWTH May 21, 1997 Myanmar's telecommunications sector achieved a 9 percent growth in the 1996-97 fiscal year ended march 31 according to latest official statistics. seventy-eight auto-exchange stations (aes) and 410 conventional exchange stations (ces) in 14 states and divisions have been set up by the end of February this year, up from the 33 aes and 210 ces in 1988. During the last four-year plan period from 1992-93 to 1995-96, some 7,00 auto-exchange lines were installed in Myanmar's three cities --Bago, Taunggyi and Dawei. The number of towns, which have auto telephones, increased to 53 by the end of the fiscal 1995-96 from 29 in the fiscal 1990- 91. Over 2,000 cellular phones were installed in the last four years in Yangon and 1,000 more are being installed in Mandalay, the second largest city of the country. The number of telephones in Myanmar reached 168,399 in the 1995-96 fiscal year, up from 73,545 at the beginning of the 1990s. Meanwhile, some foreign companies, including these from Australia, Israel, Japan, the US and Singapore, have been involved in the installation of communications systems in Myanmar in recent years. ********************************* HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ASIA PRESS RELEASE: NEW ARRESTS May 23, 1997 From: slushep@hrw.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 23, 1997 Contact: Sidney Jones, NY: 212-972-8400, ext. 290; (h) 718-788-2899 Mike Jendrzejczyk, DC: 202-371-6592, ext. 113; (h)301-585-5824 Jean-Paul Marthoz, Brussels: 32-2-732-2009 Burma: New Arrests Require International Response Human Rights Watch/Asia is alarmed by the arrest of at least 100 members of the Burmese opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), over the past few days. Those arrested include elected Members of Parliament and party members. Many of the arrests took place in Mandalay, Sagaing, Irrawaddy divisions and the Mon state as the NLD members were preparing to travel to Rangoon to attend a party congress commemorating the seventh anniversary of the May 27, 1990 election. The congress is due to take place at the home of the General Secretary of the NLD, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The arrests come only days after US President Bill Clinton issued an executive order prohibiting new investment in Burma because of human rights violations and less than ten days before a key meeting of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Malaysia that will decide whether to admit Burma as a full member. "These most recent arrests make a mockery of any claim by Burma's neighbors and allies that economic engagement will bring improvements in human rights," said Human Rights Watch/Asia's executive director Sidney Jones. "Members of ASEAN should press Burma to cease these arrests and permit immediate access by the Special Rapporteur to Burma, Judge Rajsoomer Lallah, as recommended by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in April." Lallah has tried unsuccessfully to visit the country since 1996 in order to carry out his UN mandate. Members of ASEAN have argued for "constructive engagement" and vigorously opposed efforts to impose economic sanctions on the SLORC. At a meeting on May 31, 1997 in Malaysia, senior ASEAN officials are expected to decide the timetable for the admission of Burma, Cambodia and Laos as new members. Human Rights Watch/Asia said that ASEAN should make it clear at this meeting that if such abuses continue, Burma will not be admitted to the association at its ministerial meeting in Malaysia this July. The ASEAN governments, it said, should use their influence to urge Rangoon to exercise restraint, to refrain from any further arrests, and to allow members of the NLD to gather peacefully. In a resolution adopted unanimously by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva in April, the SLORC was urged to "release immediately and unconditionally detained political leaders and all political prisoners" and to "ensure full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of thought, opinion, expression and assembly." Three leading ASEAN nations -- Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines -- currently serve on the Commission. Japan is in a crucial position to help end the crackdown. Last December, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto publicly criticized Burma's arrest of hundreds of student activists. After the most recent arrests, Japan urged the SLORC to immediately release those detained and to cease further arrests of NLD members. While welcoming that statement, Human Rights Watch/Asia said the Japanese government should consider backing up its appeal by urging Keidanren, the powerful Japanese trade association, to put off plans to send a business delegation to Burma in June in light of the increased repression. It should also clearly state its opposition to any initiative by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to resume financial assistance to Burma, suspended since 1988. On May 11, 1997 during the ADB's annual meeting in Fukuoka, Japan, the bank's president, Mr. Mitsuo Sato, hinted that funding to Burma should perhaps be resumed. The governments in the European Union (EU) should enact measures to follow up the decision in March 1997 to suspend trade benefits to Burma due to the massive use of forced labor on infrastructure projects. For example, the new British government, which has already condemned the arrests, could take the lead among EU governments by announcing that it will impose a ban on any and all new private investment in Burma by British companies. According to the U.S. State Department, Great Britain is the third largest investor in Burma. In addition, members of parliament in EU countries should give a mandate to their respective foreign ministers to take additional steps, such as an EU-wide ban on all new private investment in Burma, at the next meeting of the General Affairs Council. The most recent arrests come a year after the military government detained a total of 261 NLD members in order to prevent them from attending a similar congress in May 1996. Since then, over 2,000 NLD members and other peaceful demonstrators were arrested or detained in a series of incidents in the past year as the military attempted to prevent them from exercising their rights to freedom of association, expression and opinion. In September, 1996 nearly 500 NLD members were arrested as they tried to attend another party meeting, and in October and December some 700 students and their supporters took to the streets to demand the right to form a union. While most of those detained were released after being detained without charge for up to three weeks, dozens of key party officials, including Aung San Suu Kyi's personal secretary, were given prison sentences of up to twenty years with hard labor. ****************************************** THE NATION: PETRONAS TIPPED FOR TEXACO STAKE IN BURMA May 23, 1997 By Pichaya Changsorn US sanctions prompt take-over talks MALAYSIAN national oil exploration company Petronas Carigari is one of the most likely buyers of the stake held by US-based Texaco Inc in Burma's Yetagun gas field, following US sanctions, informed sources said. Although the US administration announced sanctions only on new investments in military-ruled Burma last month, and they would not apply to an existing investment like the Texaco gas project, industry sources said Texaco is negotiating with a number of oil and gas companies to take over its 40 per cent stake in the Yetagun gas field. Among the most likely buyers is Petronas Carigari, the petroleum exploration and production arm of Malaysian national oil company Petronas. ''Petronas is trying to build its empire in countries around Thailand, which is the Southeast Asian's largest market for gas," a source said. Thailand, through national oil company Petroleum Authority of Thailand, earlier this year signed a gas sale contract with the Yetagun consortium. To be combined with gas from the giant Yadana field, PTT will pipe it to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand's (Egat) power plants and a private power plant in Ratchaburi partly owned by Texaco. Petronas has become a strong contender for buying the Yetagun stake from Texaco since it is offering to swap its stake in a Malaysian field for the Yetagun stake. James Houck, general manager of Texaco's global gas and power business who came to Thailand yesterday to sign the power purchase agreement contract with Egat, refused to comment on the Texaco issue. Texaco's Thai power project, which includes Thai energy and mining group Ban Pu Plc and Black & Veatch of the US as equity partners, plans to use gas from Burma. Houck, however, said according to his understanding, the US sanctions do not apply to the Texaco project. Texaco chief executive Peter Bijur was quoted earlier by wire service agencies as saying at the company's annual shareholders meeting that the company would consider selling its Yetagun gas stake. However, sources said Unocal Corp, which is the second largest shareholder in the Yadana project, has no plans to sell its stake in the gas- rich block. ''The Yetagun field is minimal to Texaco, but for the smaller Unocal, Yadana is important," said an analyst. Other contenders for the Yetagun stake include Ban Pu and Indonesian state oil company Pertamina, sources said. A senior executive of Ban Pu said due to the relationship in the power joint venture, Ban Pu might have a chance to buy a stake in the Yetagun field from Texaco, although there is no agreement which obliges Texaco to make the offer. ''The issue is price. However, we will certainly not purchase all of the 40 per cent stake because it would mean a huge amount of money," he said. Having a stake in the proven oil and gas field would fulfil Ban Pu's hopes of becoming an integrated energy company, while helping its power generating business. The company is currently engaged in coal mining, trading and the power business. Other existing shareholders in the Yetagun field are British firm Premier Oil, Nippon Oil and PTT Exploration and Production Plc. It has not yet become clear the scope of US sanctions, especially regarding existing projects. ''For example, could Texaco sign new contracts for construction work at its existing Yetagun project? The company has now stopped and can do nothing," said a source in Burma. The Ban PU/Texaco/Black & Veatch consortium, called Tri Energy Co (TECO), yesterday inked the PPA with Egat. TECO will use gas from Burma to feed its 700 megawatt power plant. The gas sales contract was also signed yesterday between TECO and domestic gas supplier monopoly Petroleum Authority of Thailand. The signing made TECO the second consortium, after the Thai Oil/Unocal/Westinghouse consortium, to ink a power purchase contract with Egat under Thailand's first independent power producer programme. ''This PPA is worth not less than Bt100 billion and the gas contract is worth about 70 per cent of that," said Chira Phanupong, chairman of TECO and Ban Pu. Houck said the transparent manner in which Egat held independent power producer bids has made investing in Thailand's power generating industry attractive and Texaco will participate in the second IPP round by proposing the expansion of the TECO generating capacity. The PPA was concluded at Bt1.303 per kilowatt-hour. TECO President Rawi Corsiri said the company is expected to wrap up its project financing deal within two months. TECO will lend 75 per cent of the project cost, which will total Bt11 billion. Over 80 per cent of the loan will be in US dollars. The construction will take place next summer and commercial operations are slated to begin on May 1, 2000. Egat, Electricity Generating Plc and General Electric are some of the companies vying for operating and maintenance contracts for the TECO power plant. Yadana and Yetagun gas is scheduled to be shipped to Thailand beginning in mid-1998 and 1999, respectively. (TN) ***************************************************** SAMPLE LETTER: TO MAYOR GIULIANI May 24, 1997 From: Thomas Lansner BURMA SANCTIONS DECISION SET FOR FRIDAY MAY 30 On May 14, The New York City Council voted 50-0 to bar companies doing business in Burma from doing business with the City of New York. The council acted unanimously to pass Bill 647A after three hearings which heard extensive testimony detailing the Burmese dictatorship's human rights abuses, links to heroin trading, and shameful environmental record. Now, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani can choose to sign or veto Bill. The decision will is scheduled to be announced on Friday, May 30. The Mayor is under strong pressure from major corporations and their highly-paid lobbyists to veto Bill 647A. UNOCAL and other business groups are spending money and gaining access. Their voices are already being heard. Mayor Giuliani needs to hear from the rest of us, from people in New York City, across America and around the world, who support New York's stand for human rights. Please write, phone, fax or email the Mayor NOW. Urge him to join the struggle for human dignity and against dictatorship in Burma! PLEASE SEND MESSAGES NOW TO: Mayor Rudolph Giuliani City Hall New York, NY 10007 PH: 212-788-3000 FAX: 212-788-2975 or 212 788-2969 email: giuliani@www.ci.nyc.ny.us SAMPLE LETTER Dear Mayor Giuliani, We urge you to sign and fully support implementation of Bill 647A, which will present companies doing business in Burma from receiving contracts from the City of New York. The Burmese military dictatorship is one of the most brutal in the world, guilty of murder, torture and many other abuses. It is also allowing massive heroin production and exports, and most of the heroin found in New York City is of Burmese origin. Bill 647A allows New York City to take a strong lead in demanding respect for the rights of both Burmese and New Yorkers. Bill 647A deserves your full support. Sincerely, ************************************ BOOK RELEASE: AUNG SAN SUU KYI-VOICE OF HOPE May 24, 1997 From: "Alan E. Clements" <106664.2544@compuserve.com> Just released by Penguin UK: Aung San Suu Kyi - The Voice of Hope - Conversations with Alan Clements Cost: U.K. 7.99 Pounds - $16.95 Aust. > 241 pages with photographs Available in English language bookstores worldwide (available in USA & Canada October. 1, 1997, Seven Stories Press, New York, NY). In this wide-ranging series of interviews with writer, social activist and former Buddhist monk Alan Clements, Aung San Suu Kyi and her closest collaborators (NLD Vice-Chairman U Tin Oo and U Kyi Maung) reveal the roots of her passion for justice, her refusal to hate her adversaries and her unwavering commitment to the power of truth. With charm, humility and many delightful touches of humour, she examines the influences of Burmese history and her 'warrior-statesman' father on her philosophy of non-violence and 'engaged Buddhism'. She explores her feelings between politics and religion, and the vicious dishonesty of Burma's military regime. Like Mandela, Solzhenitsyn and Havel before her, Aung San Suu Kyi paints a vivid picture of dictatorship in action, and the ways even ordinary people manage to resist. Her words challenge the values and behavior of politicians everywhere, and provide a beacon of hope to all of these who believe in human rights. ***************************************